


Second Chance

by Athoros



Category: Cyberpunk & Cyberpunk 2020 (Roleplaying Games), Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, But also I haven't finished the game so spoilers up to Nocturne OP55N1, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:46:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28616796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athoros/pseuds/Athoros
Summary: It’s time for V and Johnny to be separated, a bittersweet goodbye. She can’t wait any longer if they want any chance of her surviving after. Johnny accepts his essential death knowing that she’ll live on in his place. Little does he know, she can’t see her life without him anymore. They’ve melded so far she can’t find where his personality ends and hers begins. Little does she know he feels the same, unable to find all of who he used to be. Before he was crammed into her head. He's doing this for her, for once in his life taking the selfless option, saving her, and condemning himself to an eternity of nothing in cyberspace.But behind the curtain, something is happening. Something was found that could change everything. And V will do anything to make it possible.
Relationships: Johnny Silverhand & Female V, Johnny Silverhand/Female V, Judy Alvarez/Female V
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28





	1. Prologue

It had almost been a year, 10 months to be exact since Johnny had been split from V. 10 months since V had her mind melded with an engram of herself in an attempt to save her life. It started rough, sickness and migraines filling the majority of V's recovery. Her brain struggled to fill back in the gaping holes in her consciousness, the effects mimicking what she went through when she watched herself deteriorate alongside Johnny. Blackouts, memory loss, coughing up blood, she may as well still be dying. But if that were the case at least Johnny would still be there, his absence becoming more and more unbearable as the time passed. 

If the recovery was rough, what came after was almost impossible for V to handle. The emptiness she experienced being left alone in her mind after having the fullness of two people for so long, was the size of a thousand-pound weight on her chest. At first, she worked, once she was well enough to do so. Taking on any job thrown her way until it didn't distract her anymore. Until nothing could distract her anymore.

Then she started looking for new outlets and discovered some that she was confident would've made Johnny proud. A drink here and a smoke there turned into weekend-long benders crossfaded until she couldn't walk straight. It turned into shady people in dank locations selling dubious substances that V was desperate to try. She would try anything to try and find a way to forget the pain she felt. It had spiraled out of control, most of her friends taking several steps back from her after so many nights of dragging her home drunk, high, or both.

The only person who didn't take a step back was Judy, unable to leave V in her time of need. Judy could see V's vulnerability and couldn't bear to leave her completely on her own, afraid of what may happen to her. Recently it had been Judy alone keeping track of V and getting her home in one piece, healing her wounds, making sure she ate regularly, trying to keep her self-destructive behavior under some kind of control.

Judy loved V, wanted to be there for her but it all was wearing on her as well. V wasn't herself anymore, she never drank this much before and had even started smoking regularly again, a habit she had quit in her early 20s. Judy had no other option but to be there for her, knowing that without at least one person she would go over the edge. All Judy could do was stand by and watch as V slowly killed herself all over again because she didn't die for Johnny.

When the day came and V received the call from Kerry, Judy was almost relieved. Kerry talked quickly, almost breathlessly, summarizing a much longer story they would have to hear about some other time. He had found something, something that could change _everything_.

She gasped right alongside V when she pulled up the message he sent. Perfectly preserved, eyes shut like he was asleep, was Johnny. Judy had only ever seen the pictures of him in old holos and decaying records from the old days. Seeing his body was an unsaid explanation of the desperation in Kerry's voice, Judy and V both knowing what it meant to have Johnny's body still in existence.

They had pursued this route already, V told Judy all about the tasks Johnny had her complete before his "death" and about the oil field they visited having been told it was the final resting place for Johnny's real body. Judy remembered that there was no marker, nor did they look for remains but V had seemed sure that it was the end of the line for Johnny. Now, though, looking into his pristine face V wasn't so sure anymore. She wonders whether Grayson actually lied to their faces or if he himself had been lied to.

They locked eyes, both having the same train of thought. When Judy saw the look in V's eyes she knew it was mirrored in her own, relief. She knew this would mean the end of their relationship but somehow she knew that it was never _her_ relationship, it was _their_ relationship. And she knew the only way to complete V again was to have Johnny back, whatever that entails.

Judy wasn't sure if V was breathing, she had gone completely still, unwilling to move because this could be a dream and anything will break the reality.

Finally, Judy moved, just a small amount but it was enough to shock V out of it. Caught in her gaze, V’s eyes overflowed with tears and they streamed fast down her face. Judy grabbed her into a hug, assuring her that everything would be okay. She wasn’t sure who she was telling that to more, V or herself.

Kerry explained that they'd have to steal the body during a transfer between the plane and storage facility. Security would be hot on both locations leaving the only opening as the van was moving. Judy, V, and Kerry devised a plan to run the van off the road, kill the driver and three guards and take possession of Johnny's body.

The plan almost went without a hitch, aside from one of the guards managing to get a shot on V before she killed him. She was bleeding profusely but didn't stop, tearing through each guard until no one stood between them and the contents of the truck. Johnny's body was iced over from transport when they entered the truck, looking like they pulled him straight from the arctic tundra.

None of this stopped V from grabbing his limp body and pulling it to her, convincing herself it was real. Judy had a hard time watching the pseudo-reunion, feeling a coldness in her bones. She wanted to convince herself that she still had a place in V's life even if Johnny came back, but she was having a hard time while watching V cling to an essential corpse.

Together they carried him to the car and laid him across the back seat. All that was left to do was find Vic and hope it would be as easy as they thought to put Johnny back into his body. For the sake of V, Judy hoped it worked. V couldn't handle losing him a second time.


	2. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny wakes up and wants to see V

The first thing Johnny became aware of was the slight blowing of air on his body. He wasn't sure what it was, only knowing the feeling of going from nowhere to somewhere. It seemed neverending, the time in his mind blurring. After so long he began to feel the sensation of fabric beneath him, it seeping into his consciousness. He began hearing noises, ventilation and ambient city sounds.

About this point, he had dredged together his thoughts. Before they felt scattered, in pieces waiting to be set back together. The last thing he remembered was being ripped from V's mind and thrown into the darkness. The nothingness that he sat inside for 50 years. He had not felt anything, thought anything, since that point. Now he was able to think again, and with clarity, he didn't feel before. He wasn't too sure what this meant, where he was, what was happening to him but it was an improvement from before.

He had been heartbroken to leave V, knowing he promised to give his life and intending to stick to that promise. She tried to convince him to take hers but he wouldn't have it, wouldn't hear her futile arguments. He knew she cried about it, making himself scarce during those times. He knew being around, trying to comfort her, would only make things worse. It hurt to watch her suffer, the quicker he was gone the better it would be for her.

His mind slowly came to the surface, hearing, and feeling more as everything cleared. He could hear voices at times, unable to understand exactly what they were saying. Some were male, some female. He was unable to recognize them at first but as more time went by he was able to understand their words and eventually figure out who they were. 

"Will it work, will he wake up?" Was a feminine voice, he could hear the worry behind her tone.

"I've done what I can, all that's left is to wait" A male voice replied. His voice also sounded familiar, but not in the same way.

Voices faded out for a while, ambient noise fading back in.

Then he heard that familiar voice again, this time closer. She was speaking to him, her words quiet like she was praying. For a moment he scoffed at the idea someone would be praying over him but the longer she continued the more viscous her voice became, heavy with hidden tears.

"I hope you fucking pull through, Johnny, please" She ended, louder this time. It was the first time he'd heard his name, confirming she was talking to no one but him. He couldn't figure out, at first, who this was.

It took the second time she visited him for him to deduce who it was, finally being connected enough to tie what he was hearing with his memories. She came again, no praying this time only quiet words under her breath before he felt her move away. What was telling was the next person who came near him, speaking only slightly louder but closer to his ear.

"You better survive you asshole" He knew this voice, but again not like the first. He did, however, remember where this voice was from. He heard it often with V, her spending a good amount of time there. It was Judy, V's girlfriend. He remembers when their relationship first began, he was relieved she was the one V chose to be with instead of that cop. He disapproved of the gonk from the beginning.

If this was Judy speaking to him now, which he was now sure it was, that would mean the voice he's been hearing is V herself. She's prayed over him, visited him, he heard the worry in her voice. He only briefly questioned how he was here now, where "here" even was.

By that point, it wasn't much longer until he woke up. The lights were too bright for his eyes, noises suddenly louder, a throbbing headache behind his brow. Everything faded into existence, a lot more vivid than he seemed to remember. His vision cleared and he glanced around, recognizing where he was as Vic's place. By the time he was able to look around himself, Vic was there. He rushed to check Johnny's vitals, surprised that he even woke up in the first place.

A body on cryo-storage for over 50 years was unheard of, much less a consciousness being planted back into it and surviving. He couldn't believe his eyes when Johnny had begun stirring a few days before, even more, shocked when Johnny finally opened his eyes. He was very clearly confused, trying to decide where he was and what was happening.

He couldn't blame him for not understanding what was happening, last he heard his body was 6 feet under in the oil fields. He and V had accepted it as truth so easily, not even searching for definitive proof. He understood why, the kind of cryo technology that it would've taken to preserve a body for 50 years was unrealistic. Vic had heard rumors of a company developing it years ago, but when that company disappeared he, along with the general public, believed they had failed and dissolved. In reality, it seems, they were bought. Their technology made private to cover for the shady things Arasaka had plans for. That still didn't explain why Johnny was kept on ice this long, or where he's been all this time.

The aforementioned Johnny jolted as Vic moved towards him. "The fuck happened" He managed to get out, his throat burning from so many years of not being used. Vic held his hands out in front of him, showing he meant no harm.

"You're...back. Alive. You should stay seated though" Vic told him, urging him to settle back into the bed he was lying on. If he was in a bed that means he's been there for a while, and they've been waiting. Johnny reached up and rubbed his throat, painful from speaking.

Vic left the room for only a moment to grab a bottle of water and bringing it back. "Don't drink it too fast" He warns, Johnny would've scoffed if it wouldn't cause pain.

Once he tasted the water he did have to slow down, wanting to take every last drop. Like he'd been walking in a desert for a million years. He paced himself as much as he could but was soon asking for more, of which Vic obliged. After a few moments of hydration, he set the bottle down and turned his eyes to Vic again.

"Where's V?" He mumbled, feeling exhausted after only drinking water and sitting up.

"She went home, sat up here with you every day so far until she can't keep her eyes open" Vic informed him, surprising Johnny. He knew she had been here a few times, but every day?

"I'm going to see her" Johnny quipped and went to stand only to brace himself on the bed when he couldn't fully hold his body weight.

Vic moved quickly to try and stabilize him, a movement that Johnny shrugged off as he tried to step away from the bed.

"You need to take it easy, this body hasn't moved in a long time" Vic urged him to sit but could only follow behind him at steady proximity, ready to grab him when Johnny's legs finally gave out.

"You don't have any fuckin' meds for this?" Johnny spat at Vic, starting to feel pain from the exertion mixed with the embarrassment that he was physically holding him up now.

"Yes but I wasn't going to use them until you woke up, you haven't given me a chance to do anything before you tried to drag yourself to V's" Vic was annoyed but knew that this would happen. The sheer amount of time V spent there, watching him, talking to him. Of course, the first thing he would want to do is see her.

Johnny gave in then, allowing Vic to support his weight and walk him to the chair in the middle of the room. He collapsed into it, remembering when V first woke up in that chair with him in her head. Things were a lot different back then, he was a lot angrier. Even now, he wasn't as angry as he remembered the last time he existed in this body.

Vic rummaged around somewhere nearby before coming back with an injector. Before Johnny had a chance to realize what he had, he'd jammed it into his leg.

"Fuckin' hell man, some warning next time?" Johnny spits at Vic but the other man was unphased. 

"Yeah yeah," Vic remarked placidly, walking away from Johnny to throw out the injector.

Johnny seemed to remember Vic differently when he was sharing a body with V, he seemed nicer. With a huff, Johnny realized it's probably because she has tits and men will be men. After only a few minutes Johnny felt his strength returning and was easily able to move from the chair.

"Do you know your way to her apartment?" Vic asked from the other side of the room. Johnny hesitated, if he was honest he never really paid much attention to how V got places. He just didn't want to tell Vic that.

"Yeah I've got it" He turned to leave the room and hesitated at the door, realizing he didn't even know how to get out of Vic's hole in the wall.

"Here ya fuckin' gonk" Vic told him, offering out a shard for Johnny to take.

He didn't want to admit it, but he was thankful the man was persistent. He took the shard, nodding his head in thanks before walking up the stairs and away from Vic's. He slotted the shard, a map popping up automatically. He followed the directions out of the back alley Vic called home and down the streets.

Everything was much louder than he remembered, a lot more people too. Had been a long time since he got to go somewhere on his own two legs. The world was so much different through his own eyes instead of V's. People looked different, buildings looked different, and people looked at him differently.

He arrived at the steps of her Megabuilding and took the stairs two at a time. He didn't know why he was so excited to see her, but he was. A certain giddiness of knowing she somehow found his body and returned him to it. Not for herself, but for him. He gave his life for her and she went and returned his.

The ride on the elevator was unbearable, Johnny just wanting to be at her door with less wasted time. When the elevator finally arrived on the residential floor he couldn't get up the final stairs fast enough.

He straightened himself when he arrived at her door, becoming the picture of indifference despite his rush to get there. He knocked firmly twice and waited.

At first, there was no reply and he wondered if she had gone to sleep until he heard a quiet answer.

"Is that you Judy? I'm busy right now" Her voice sounded strange, watery. He knew the sound well as someone who had been drinking.

He knocked again, the same as the first time. He heard a barely muffled groan and shuffling from inside. He heard her kick something and expletives fall from her mouth as she got closer to the door.

"I don't want to have company right now-" She stated as the door slid open and her words caught in her throat. He hadn't seen her in what seemed like years, never getting to look at her much due to her aversion to mirrors. Her eyes were wide and glassy blue with unshed tears, her naturally touseled hair even messier than he had ever seen it.

He could smell alcohol from her, tequila specifically. She had a cigarette in her hand still. He knew she had picked up more than a few habits from him.

"Did I fall asleep? I'm dreaming, aren't I?" She asked him, knowing he would tell her. She always had trouble differentiating dreams from reality, making a habit of asking people to bring herself out of one. She'd already had this dream many times, Johnny popping up at her door completely fine.

Johnny smirked at her and reached forward, snagging the cigarette from her hand and taking a long draw from it. She just stared, knowing this felt different than her dreams, knowing that it very well could be a reality.

"I sure hope you're not babe," He told her, grinning when her expression finally broke and unabashed tears poured down her face. He stepped forward into the apartment as she backed up a few steps. The door slid closed behind him and she launched herself into his arms.

He had never hugged her, hadn't been hugged by anyone in so many years. She gripped onto him like she'd be practicing, knowing that she didn't hug often either. He cautiously wrapped his arms around her, feeling her tears soak through his shirt. He buried his face into her hair, always having wanted to know what her hair smelled like. It smelled like mint and he almost chuckled, wondering if she matches the scent of her shampoo to her hair color.

Before he knew it, his face felt wet as well. Unwilling to show her that emotion he swiped his face on her shoulder to hide them. She finally pulled away then, scrubbing at her own eyes furiously.

"How did you get here?" She asked, even if she was sure she knew the answer.

"That's a question you should really be answering for me," Johnny told her, wanting to get right into the meat of his concerns.

She pulled him with her over to the couch, both of them sitting on it. Nibbles jumped up with them, somehow recognizing Johnny even if they had never officially met.

"It's all Kerry's doin' really" She told him, pulling her legs up to cross underneath her, "He found it-you on an auction site."

Johnny gave her an incredulous look, not understanding how he would've been in some kind of auction.

"Apparently, back when Arasaka killed you, they didn't dump your body like we were told. There was a technology being developed that 'Saka decided to fund in preparation for Saburo" She told him, although he still couldn't understand how it involved him, "When you blew up the tower you destroyed some pretty important research and they needed to replace that capital lost. They created cryo-containment as a way of prolonging tissue life."

The last line hit Johnny like a train. Arasaka ripped him from his mind and then what? Stored away his body so it wouldn't die?

V could see his confusion and continued, "Kerry figures 'Saka first auctioned you off. There's been no record of this kind of sale happening in a while, no record of anything like this even existing around here in just as long. You've been out of the country, who knows where, and they've bounced you around for half a century until a private buyer in our own Night City won the auction. Kerry even tried to bid in an attempt to make it all easier on us but there's some diehard Samurai fans out there who will pay a fortune for the real body of Johnny Silverhand."

Johnny shuddered at what the psychofan could've had in store for his body. He knew there were some weirdos out there but never expected it to be something like this.

"Can't believe they'd keep me on ice for that long just for some eddies" Johnny finally spoke, "I must have really blown a hole in their research fund."

V could hear the smile in Johnny's words before she looked at him and laughed, really having missed his sense of humor. Maybe it was their connection or maybe it was their time together but he really grew on her while he was cohabitating her head.

After a few moments of companionable silence, Johnny spoke up, wanting to sate his curiosity since the moment he walked through the door.

"So V, when did you become me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't written fanfiction to post in almost 10 years, so be gentle.
> 
> I don't have a beta either so it's just my brain and I working through my grammatical issues. And my supportive boyfriend who doesn't understand fanfiction but will still read it for me.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy!


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